A billion minutes ago, Christianity began
A billion seconds ago, the IBM personal computer was released
A billion Google searches ago...was this morning."
Hal Varian, Google's Chief Economist
December 20, 2013
Heroic journeys in the 21st century occur within a Google context - where Google's mission is to organize the world's information and make it universally accessible and useful. Google's mission looks to create an environment of purpose, freedom, and creativity that provides opportunities for heroic unguarded exploration and discovery. Laszlo Bock, who leads Google's people function, (which includes all areas related to the attraction, development, and retention of over 50,000 'Googlers' worldwide) states, in his groundbreaking inquiry into the philosophy of work: " Work Rules: Insights From Inside Google reminds the reader that: "Google's bursts of creation and accomplishment are a direct result of articulating their mission as something to keep reaching for, just beyond the frontiers of what they can imagine". This is an epic heroic challenge issued to all its employees from one of the premier organizations of your generation. The folks at Google understand that the most talented people on the planet seek a career aspiration that is also inspiring.
'Googlers', as they call themselves, believe that they can never achieve their mission because there will always be more information to organize and more ways to make it useful. Google's mission is distinctive in its simplicity and what it doesn't talk about. There's no mention of profit or market. No mention of customers or users. No mention why this is their mission, or to what end they pursue these goals. Instead it's taken to be self-evident that organizing information and making it accessible and useful is a good thing.
Everyone wants to work for Google, everyone wants Google to be part of their heroic career quest. Each year, Google receives more than 2 million employment applications, of which, they select several thousand each year. Google focuses on creating an environment where talented hard-working people are rewarded for their contributions to a mission that makes Google and the world a better place.
During times of massive social and economic transformation, (when a billion Google searches occur before noon) the call for heroic action is constant. The heroes of the 21st century are individuals who can 'crystallize the chaos' as they craft their unique career stories. In the classic context, heroes become queens and kings; they utilize the power of their own inner resources; chase holy grails; or slay imposing dragons as they move from their subjective heroic perspective to a 'big picture' perspective that expands their spirits and their horizons within a rich communal dance of connectivity.
No one has ever spoken more eloquently, or more effectively, about our communal connectivity than renowned mythologist and philosopher Joseph Campbell. He believed that the hero's journey, as told through global myth and metaphor, tell the story that we all make from the dependency of childhood to the autonomy of adulthood. Professor Campbell argued that there were just a few archetypical stories that serve as the foundations that underpin our global myths. Heroes are called to adventure, face a series of trials, become wiser, and then find some mastery or peace. As humans, we live through narrative , viewing history through a lens of stories that we tell ourselves. No wonder that we find common threads in the tapestries of one another's lives.
Professor Campbell believed that we all have the potential to live out the hero's journey, and all you need to do is to take the first step and enter the unknown of self-awareness and self-knowledge. No mythologist or visionary of the 20th century embraced and celebrated the heroic journey more than Professor Campbell. He used metaphor and mythology as a way of making sense in a senseless world, where myths and stories serve as narrative patterns that clarify and give significance to our experience. Joseph Campbell understood that the imagery of mythology is symbolic of the spiritual powers within us. Myths do not come from a concept system; they come from a life system; they come out of a deeper center. According to Professor Campbell, "The myth does not point to a fact, the myth points beyond facts to something that informs the fact."
Students always question: "How is it possible that the deeds of figures from stories told hundreds and thousands of years ago, in cultures distinct and distant, have some relevance in my life today ? I remind them that there are dragons to be slain and treasures to be gained in every life. Campbell identifies the motif of the hero's adventure as a map, an outline to follow, where each career traveler fills in the details and circumstances of their experiences.
Professor Campbell challenges each of us to imagine an inspiring future of hope and promise, and to work to shape our futures, rather than passively waiting and watching our futures happen around us. I encourage you to aim high and focus on something greater than yourselves, while at the same time, attending to the specific details of your experience. In other words, cherish the importance and power of attending to the moment at hand, while always keeping the 'big picture' in perspective.
History will show that in the long run, one of the most influential books of the 20th century may turn out to be Joseph Campbell's THE HERO WITH A THOUSAND FACES. The text and the ideas inside have had a major impact on writing and story-telling, and most dramatically movie-making. Filmmakers like John Boorman, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Coppola owe their successes in part to the ageless patterns that Campbell identifies in his work. He found that world myths were all basically the same story - retold endlessly in infinite variations. Campbell discovered that all story-telling, consciously or not, follows the ancient patterns of myth. All stories, from the crudest jokes to the highest form of literature, can be understood in terms of the hero myth.
The theme of the hero is universal, occurring in every culture and in every time. It is as infinitely varied as the human race itself; and yet it's basic form remains the same. These are career journeys that possess an incredibly active set of elements and situations that come together through endless repetition from the deepest reaches of the mind of man.
Professor Campbell's thinking runs parallel to Swiss psychologist Carl Jung's discovery of a shared human 'collective unconscious' which manifests itself in the constantly repeating characters that appear in the dreams of people and myths of all cultures. Characters that appeared as what Jung called 'archetypes'. Jung suggested that these archetypes serve as reflective aspects of the human mind, and that as we form our personalities we divide ourselves into these characters as we play out the drama of our lives.
The repeating characters of Professor Campbell's hero myth such as the young hero, the wise old woman or man, the shape-shifting man or woman, and the shadowy antagonist are identical to the archetypes of the human mind as revealed in our dreams. Such stories serve as models of the workings of the human mind, true maps of our psyches. They are always psychologically valid and realistic even when they portray fantastic, impossible, unreal events.
Stories built around the hero myth have an appeal that can be felt by everyone because they spring from the universal concerns of Jung's collective unconscious. These timeless stories deal with what appear to be child-like universal questions: Who am I ? Where did I come from ? Where will I go when I die ? What is good and what is evil ? What must I do about it ? What will tomorrow be like ? Is there anybody else out there ?
Professor Campbell has created a mythological and metaphoric landscape and roadmap that has guided my work for the past three decades; as I searched for ways to bring Joseph Campbell's mind and wisdom into my career therapy sessions. As you focus on the heroic nature of your career journey, from the world of education to the world of work, you need to discover that your own heroic path begins with and is vested in your self-awareness and inner transformation. In other words, you need to continually tap into your abilities to reflect and learn from your experiences within an experiential context that enables you to receive, discover, and create new truths for yourself.
The essence of all mythology is found in the theme of the visionary quest, the seeker follows her dream as she travels the journey of transformation. You live in a dramatic time of personal, professional, and societal transformation. You are actively engaged in moving from a self-identity, largely determined by your parents, extended family, teachers, coaches, and advisors, to a world where you are responsible to discover and actualize the value of your own independent experience, and how that independence contributes to the communal good.
"The heroic quest is about saying 'yes' to yourself and in so, becoming more fully alive and more effective in the world...The quest is replete with dangers and pitfalls, but it offers great rewards: the capacity to be successful in the world, knowledge of the mysteries of the human soul, and the opportunity to find and express your unique gifts in the world."
--Carol S. Pearson, Awakening the Heroes Within
Professor Campbell and Carol Pearson bring to life this universal human story, told in virtually every culture, of a young person who leaves the security to venture into the world. Along the journey, the hero encounters challenges, discovers the meaning of the journey and returns home transformed. In the THE HERO with A THOUSAND FACES, Professor Campbell outlines the twelve stages of the heroic journey as it appears within the myths and legends of a wide range of world cultures, more about these stages in the next blog. Metaphoric stages that can provide you with a vivid and creative expanded awareness of the ever-present challenges you face in your quest to be the best you can be. Check next week's blog as the heroic journey is described.
Every story-teller bends the myth to her or his own purpose. That's why the hero has a thousand faces:
The Stages of the Hero's Journey
- Ordinary World
- Call to Adventure
- Refusal of the Call
- Meeting with The Mentor
- Crossing the Threshold
- Tests, Allies, and Enemies
- Approach to the Inmost Cave
- The Ordeal
- The Reward
- The Road Back
- Resurrection
- Return with The Elixir
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